Radar target spherical projection method for maritime formation

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a radar target spherical projection method for maritime formation. The method comprises the steps of converting the height of a radar target into an altitude and converting the position of the radar target into a spherical position, can be used for pre-processing radar data, supports multi-platform composite tracking based on a data chain, and contribute to generating a sharable single integrated picture (SIP) among formation members. The present invention can be widely applied to oceanic area formation operations such as coastguard patrol, sea escort, deep sea far sighting and maritime formation fight.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a radar target spherical projection method for maritime formation and belongs to the field of radar target surveillance.

TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND

With the rapid development and wide application of information technology, the continuous innovation of a surveillance perception theory has been promoted. The network center architecture is the inevitable result of the information age. The essence of the network center architecture is the task planning and distribution of a formation platform centered on a situation picture.

Situation sharing of maritime formation is conducted based on data link networking. Through target perception, edge computing, exchange service and other composite tracking processing, each platform achieves the effect that all members in the formation share an accurate single integrated situation picture (SIP) for load control and supporting collaborative operation.

The composite tracking is carried out among a plurality of sensor platforms, real-time information such as a uniform identification number, a geographic position, an altitude, a true speed vector and target attributes of targets is determined through real-time exchange and correlation calculation of radar targets according to report responsibilities, and target tracks which are consistent, not lost, repetitive and undisturbed are naturally formed among the platforms. In order to make the target track accuracy meet the requirement of real-time collaborative control, edge computing firstly needs to carry out projection transformation on the radar target of the local platform so as to reduce the influence of target parameter errors on a composite tracking system.

The existing radar data processing of maritime formation has not adopted the edge computing method to realize the unification and sharing of distributed target situations, the existing multi-radar track fusion all adopts the central centralized processing, the system error correction adopts a sensor position calibration or real-time calibration method, the projection error correction problem caused by the earth curvature is not considered, and the single-platform radar data processing also does not consider projection error correction as the continuity of target track tracking is uninfluenced no matter whether the projection errors are corrected or not.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a radar target spherical projection method for maritime formation, so as to generate a single integrated picture for maritime formation. Each sensor platform performs projection error correction on a radar target before performing composite tracking processing on the target, the target height measured by a local radar is converted into the altitude, and the target polar coordinate positions are converted into the ground(spherical) positions, so that target data detected by the platforms at different positions on the sea are all expressed based on the spherical surface, and it is ensured that distributed type processing of radar point trace does not increase new precision loss during composite tracking.

The present invention specifically includes the following steps:

step 1, performing target projection modeling;

step 2, calculating the altitude of the target;

step 3, calculating the projection of the target on a radar plane;

step 4, calculating the projection of the target on the earth spherical surface; and

step 5, using the projection of the target on the earth spherical surface for radar data pre-processing, so as to generate a single integrated picture (SIP) which is widely used for oceanic area formation operations such as coastguard patrol, sea escort, deep sea far sighting and maritime formation fight.

The step 1 comprises the specific process as follows: expressing the target position detected by the radar through polar coordinates (ρ, α, θ) with the position of a radar antenna as an original point, wherein ρ is the target slant distance, α is the target azimuth relative to due north and θ is the target elevation; converting (ρ, α, θ) into rectangular coordinates (x_(ρ), y_(ρ), h) as follows:

$\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {x_{\rho} = {\rho \; \sin \; \alpha}} \\ {y_{\rho} = {\rho \; \cos \; \alpha}} \\ {h = {\rho \; \sin \; \theta}} \end{matrix} \right.$

wherein x_(ρ) represents an x-coordinate of the target, y_(ρ) represents a y-coordinate of the target, and h represents a vertical coordinate of the target; and

establishing a plane projection model and a spherical projection model of the target, wherein

the target plane projection model is as follows:

${D/\rho} = \sqrt{1 - \frac{h^{2}}{\rho^{2}}}$

the spherical projection model is as follows:

(Z+R)² =D ²+[(α+R+h)]²

in the formulas, D represents the projection length of ρ on the radar plane, Z represents the altitude of the target, R represents the earth radius (6371.3 km), and α represents the altitude of the radar antenna.

The step 2 comprises the specific process as follows:

substituting D=ρ cos θ, h=ρ sin θ into the spherical projection model of the target, obtain

Z(Z+2R)=2(α+R)ρ sin θ+α(α+2R)+ρ², namely,

${\frac{Z\left( {Z + {2R}} \right)}{{2a} + {2R}} = {\frac{\left( {{2a} + {2R}} \right)\rho \; \sin \; \theta}{{2a} + {2R}} + \frac{a\left( {a + {2R}} \right)}{{2a} + {2R}} + \frac{\rho^{2}}{{2a} + {2R}}}},$

converting the above formula into the following formula as R»α, R»Z,

$\begin{matrix} {Z = {h + a + \frac{\rho^{2}}{2\left( {a + R} \right)}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

The step 3 comprises the specific process as follows:

setting

${{{setting}\mspace{14mu} \sqrt{1 - \frac{h^{2}}{\rho^{2}}}} = K_{1}},$

regarding K₁ as a plane projection coefficient, so that the plane projection model of the target is converted into the following formula:

D=K ₁·ρ  (2)

obtaining projection coordinates of the target on the radar plane according to the principle of the same proportion of sides of similar figures,

$\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {x = {{K_{1} \cdot x_{\rho}} = {{K_{1} \cdot \rho}\; \sin \; \alpha}}} \\ {y = {{K_{1} \cdot y_{\rho}} = {{K_{1} \cdot \rho}\; \cos \; \alpha}}} \end{matrix} \right.$

wherein x represents the x-coordinate of the target's projection on the radar plane, and y represents the y-coordinate of the target's projection on the radar plane.

The step 4 comprises the specific process as follows:

step 4-1, setting

${{setting}\mspace{14mu} d} = {2{R \cdot \tan}\frac{\hat{p}}{2}}$

wherein β represents a central angle formed by a target projection point Q on the spherical surface and a radar position point

$S,\frac{\beta}{2}$

is an angle of circumference, d is the side length of the part, tangent to the position of the radar, of the opposite side of

$\frac{\beta}{2},$

and supposing that a point P exists, the side length is SP=d;

${{{{as}\mspace{14mu} \sin \mspace{14mu} \beta} = \frac{D}{R + Z}},{{\cos \; \beta} = \frac{h + \alpha + R}{R + Z}},{and}}\mspace{14mu}$ ${{\tan \frac{\beta}{2}} = \frac{\sin \; \beta}{1 + {\cos \; \beta}}},{{d = \frac{2R}{{2R} + Z + h + \alpha}};}$

step 4-2, substituting h in the above formula through the formula (1), obtain

${d = {\frac{R}{R + Z - \frac{\rho^{2}}{4\left( {\alpha + R} \right)}} \cdot D}};$

step 4-3, setting

${{{setting}\mspace{14mu} \frac{R}{R + Z - \frac{R\rho^{L}}{4\left( {\alpha + R} \right)}}} = K_{2}},$

regarding K₂ as a spherical projection coefficient, so that

d=K ₂ ·D,

substituting the formula (2) into the above formula, obtain

d=K ₁ ·K ₂·ρ  (3);

step 4-4, approximately substituting a projection point of the target on the spherical surface with the point P, and obtaining coordinates P(X_(Q), Y_(Q)) of the spherical projection point of the target according to the principle of the same proportion of sides of similar figures, namely:

$\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {X_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot x_{\rho}}} \\ {Y_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot y_{\rho}}} \end{matrix} \right.$

wherein X_(Q) represents an East coordinate of the projection of the target on the spherical surface, and Y_(Q) represents a North coordinate of the projection of the target on the spherical surface;

so, calculation formulas of the spherical projection coordinates and the altitude of the radar target are as follows:

$\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {X_{Q} = {{K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot \rho}\; \sin \; \alpha}} \\ {Y_{Q} = {{K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot \rho}\; \cos \; \alpha}} \\ {Z = {h + a + \frac{\rho^{2}}{2\left( {R + a} \right)}}} \end{matrix} \right.$

The step 5 comprises the specific process as follows:

The calculation formulas of the spherical projection coordinates and the altitude of the radar target are used for preprocessing of radar data, mainly projection error correction of radar target data, the problem of spatial consistency of target data among multiple platforms for formation is solved, then composite tracking processing is started, generating the single integrated picture and supporting load control of a local platform or collaborative control over formation.

The present invention contributes to generating the shareable single integrated picture (SIP) among formation members, the important function of SIP is to support remote data control, that is, load control over the local platform is performed by radar observation of the other platform, visibility range limitation of a local platform sensor to target tracking is overcome, and the problem of insufficient surveillance range of a single platform on the sea is solved, so that target precision of composite tracking needs to achieve the real-time control-grade level, which requires to perform projection error correction on target data firstly when radar data is processed in order to reduce the positioning errors of the radar target and also to reduce the radar coordinate conversion error among the multiple platforms.

The present invention has the main advantages as follows:

(1) a mathematical algorithm that target measurement parameters based on a radar polar coordinate system are converted into the spherical position and the altitude through projection modeling and mathematical derivation facilitates engineering application;

(2) the positioning precision of the radar target can be effectively improved, and the radar coordinate conversion error among the multiple platforms can be effectively reduced;

(3) the multiple sensor platforms with the network as the center can achieve spatial unification, and the composite tracking precision of the target is improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is further explained in detail with drawings and specific modes of execution, and the mentioned advantages of the present invention or the advantages in other aspects will be much clearer.

FIG. 1 is a target plane projection schematic diagram.

FIG. 2 is a target spherical projection schematic diagram.

FIG. 3 is a brief flow chart of radar data distributed type processing for maritime formation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is further explained in combination with drawings and the embodiment.

1. Projection Modeling

A radar generally regards the position of an antenna as an original point, polar coordinates (ρ, α, θ) represent the position of a detected target, ρ is the target slant distance, α is the target azimuth relative to due north and θ is the target elevation. The polar coordinates (ρ, α, θ) are converted into rectangular coordinates as follows:

$\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {x_{\rho} = {\rho \; \sin \; \alpha}} \\ {y_{\rho} = {\rho \; \cos \; \alpha}} \\ {h = {\rho \; \sin \; \theta}} \end{matrix} \right.$

Due to influence of the earth curvature and a certain height of the radar antenna, h in the formula does not represent the real height of a target, (x_(ρ), y_(ρ)) is far different from the projection position of the target on the ground. Influence caused by errors is large in actual application like verification of unknown targets and search and rescue. Therefore, in radar data distributed type processing, projection transformation needs to be performed on a target point trace firstly to obtain the projection position and the altitude of the target on the ground.

In order to convert the coordinates of the radar target into the spherical projection coordinates, a plane projection model and a spherical projection model of the target are established, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, wherein R represents the earth radius (6371.3 km), S represents the position of the radar, α represents the altitude of the radar antenna, and T represents the aerial target.

2. Calculation of Altitude of the Target

The relation between the altitude Z of the target and the measurement height ii. of the radar can be deduced according to FIG. 2.

Through ΔOS′T, the spherical projection model of the target can be expressed into:

(Z+R)² =D ²+[(α+R+h)]²

D=ρ cos θ, h=ρsin θ are substituted into the formula, obtain

Z(Z+2R)=2(α+R)ρ sin θ+α(α+2R)+ρ², namely,

$\frac{Z\left( {Z + {2R}} \right)}{{2a} + {2R}} = {\frac{\left( {{2a} + {2R}} \right){\rho sin\theta}}{{2a} + {2R}} + \frac{a\left( {a + {2R}} \right)}{{2a} + {2R}} + \frac{\rho^{2}}{{2a} + {2R}}}$

The above formula can be converted into the following formula as R»α, R»Z,

$\begin{matrix} {Z = {h + a + \frac{\rho^{2}}{2\left( {a + R} \right)}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

3. Calculation of Projection of the Target on a Radar Plane

The target is projected onto the radar plane, and the projection relation is shown as FIG. 1.

The plane projection model of the target is expressed as

${D^{2} = {\rho^{2} - h^{2}}},{{{namely}\mspace{14mu} {D/\rho}} = \sqrt{1 - \frac{h^{2}}{\rho^{2}}}}$

$\sqrt{1 - \frac{h^{2}}{\rho^{2}}} = K_{1}$

is set and regarded as a plane projection coefficient, so

D=K ₁·ρ  (2)

According to the principle of the same proportion of sides of similar figures, the projection coordinates of the target on the radar plane can be obtained as follows:

$\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {x = {{K_{1} \cdot x_{\rho}} = {{K_{1} \cdot \rho}\; \sin \; \alpha}}} \\ {y = {{K_{1} \cdot y_{\rho}} = {{K_{1} \cdot \rho}\; \cos \; \alpha}}} \end{matrix} \right.$

4. Calculation of Projection of the Target on the Earth Spherical Surface

The projection of the target T on the ground is a point Q, and is approximately substituted with the point P according to FIG. 2.

Through ΔOS′SP, it is known that

$d = {2{R \cdot \tan}\frac{\beta}{2}}$ ${{{{As}\mspace{14mu} \sin \; \beta} = \frac{D}{R + Z}},{{\cos \; \beta} = \frac{h + a + R}{R + Z}},{and}}\mspace{14mu}$ ${{\tan \frac{\beta}{2}} = \frac{\sin \; \beta}{1 + {\cos \; \beta}}},{d = \frac{2{RD}}{{2R} + Z + h + a}}$

h in the above formula is substituted with the formula (1), obtain

$d = {\frac{R}{R + Z - \frac{\rho^{2}}{4\left( {a + R} \right)}} \cdot D}$

$\frac{R}{R + Z - \frac{\rho^{2}}{4\left( {\alpha + R} \right)}} = K_{2}$

is set and regarded as a spherical projection coefficient, so

d=K ₂ ·D

The formula (2) is substituted into the above formula, so

d=K ₁ ·K ₂·ρ  (3)

P(X_(Q), Y_(Q)) can be obtained according to the principle of the same proportion of sides of similar figures as well, namely

$\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {X_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot x_{\rho}}} \\ {Y_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot y_{\rho}}} \end{matrix} \right.$

In conclusion, the algorithms of the spherical projection coordinates and the altitude of the radar target are as follows:

$\begin{matrix} \left\{ \begin{matrix} {X_{Q} = {{K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot \rho}\mspace{11mu} \sin \; \alpha}} \\ {Y_{Q} = {{K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot \rho}\mspace{11mu} \cos \; \alpha}} \\ {Z = {h + a + \frac{\rho^{2}}{2\left( {R + a} \right)}}} \end{matrix} \right. & (4) \end{matrix}$

wherein,

$K_{1} = \sqrt{1 - {h^{2}/\rho^{2}}}$ $K_{2} = \frac{R}{R + Z - {\rho^{2}/\left\lbrack {4\left( {a + R} \right)} \right\rbrack}}$ h = ρ  sin  θ

ρ—the target slant distance of the radar

α—the target azimuth of the radar

θ—the target elevation of the radar

a—the altitude of the position of the radar antenna

R—the earth radius

5. Application of a Radar Target Spherical Projection Method to Pre-Processing of Radar Data and to Generate a Picture

The brief flow of radar data distributed type processing for maritime formation is shown as FIG. 3, and each platform for undertaking a target surveillance task performs the same flow. Pre-processing of radar data mainly includes space-time consistency processing for multi-platform target data for formation, that is, projection error correction is achieved through calculation of the altitude, plane projection and spherical projection on the target data of the local radar, a far-end target report is subjected to coordinate conversion and accurate grid locking, space unification of the local target data and the far-end target data is achieved, the local target data and the far-end target data are subjected to time alignment processing to achieve time unification, then composite tracking processing is started and includes target correlation, fusion, smoothing, prediction, identification number consistency management and report obligation processing, the single integrated picture (SIP) is generated, and load control over a local platform or collaborative control over formation is supported.

The present invention provides a radar target spherical projection method for maritime formation, there are many specific methods and ways for achieving the present technical scheme, and the above-mentioned is only a preferred mode of execution of the present invention. It should be noted that for general technicians in the technical field, various improvements and retouches may be made therein without departing from the principle of the present invention and should be regarded within the protection scope of the present invention. Components not specifically identified in the present embodiment may be implemented in accordance with the prior art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A radar target spherical projection method for maritime formation, characterized by comprising the following steps: step 1, performing target projection modeling; step 2, calculating the altitude of a target; step 3, calculating the projection of the target on a radar plane; step 4, calculating the projection of the target on the earth spherical surface; and step 5, using the obtained projection of the target on the earth spherical surface for preprocessing radar data and generating a picture.
 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step 1 comprises the specific process as follows: expressing the target position detected by a radar through polar coordinates (ρ, α, θ) with the position of a radar antenna as an original point, wherein specifically, p is the target slant distance, a is the target azimuth relative to due north and θ is the target elevation; converting (ρ, α, θ) into rectangular coordinates (x_(ρ), y_(ρ), θ)as follows: $\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {x_{\rho} = {\rho sin\alpha}} \\ {y_{\rho} = {\rho cos\alpha}} \\ {h = {\rho sin\theta}} \end{matrix} \right.$ wherein x_(ρ) represents an x-coordinate of the target, y_(ρ) represents a y-coordinate of the target, and h represents a vertical coordinate of the target; and establishing a plane projection model and a spherical projection model of the target, wherein the target plane projection model is as follows: ${D/\rho} = \sqrt{1 - \frac{h^{2}}{\rho^{2}}}$ the spherical projection model is as follows: (Z+R)² =D ²+[(α+R+h)]² in the formulas, D represents the length of the projection of ρ on the radar plane, Z represents the altitude of the target, R represents the earth radius, and a represents the altitude of the position of the radar antenna.
 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the step 2 comprises the specific process as follows: substituting D=ρ cos θ, h=ρ sin θ into the spherical projection model of the target, obtain Z(Z+2R)=2(α+R)ρ sin θ+α(α+2R)+ρ², namely, ${\frac{Z\left( {Z + {2R}} \right)}{{2a} + {2R}} = {\frac{\left( {{2a} + {2R}} \right){\rho sin\theta}}{{2a} + {2R}} + \frac{a\left( {a + {2R}} \right)}{{2a} + {2R}} + \frac{\rho^{2}}{{2a} + {2R}}}},$ converting the above formula as R»α, R»Z, obtain an altitude calculation formula of the target as follows: $\begin{matrix} {Z = {h + a + \frac{\rho^{2}}{2\left( {a + R} \right)}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$
 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the step 3 comprises the specific process as follows: setting ${\sqrt{1 - \frac{h^{2}}{\rho^{2}}} = K_{1}},$  regarding K₁ as a plane projection coefficient, so that the plane projection model of the target is converted into the following formula: D=K ₁·ρ  (2) obtaining projection coordinates of the target on the radar plane according to the principle of the same proportion of sides of similar figures, $\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {x = {{K_{1} \cdot x_{\rho}} = {K_{1} \cdot {\rho sin\alpha}}}} \\ {y = {{K_{1} \cdot y_{\rho}} = {K_{1} \cdot {\rho cos\alpha}}}} \end{matrix} \right.$ wherein x represents the x-coordinate of the projection of the target on the radar plane, and y represents the y-coordinate of the projection of the target on the radar plane.
 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the step 4 comprises the specific process as follows: step 4-1, setting $d = {2{R \cdot \tan}\frac{\beta}{2}}$ wherein β represents a central angle formed by a target projection point Q on the spherical surface and a radar position point $S,\frac{\beta}{2}$ is an angle of circumference, d is the side length of the part, tangent to the position of the radar, of the opposite side of $\frac{\beta}{2},$ and supposing that a point P exists, the side length is SP=d; ${{{as}\mspace{14mu} \sin \mspace{11mu} \beta} = \frac{D}{R + Z}},{{\cos \mspace{11mu} \beta} = \frac{h + a + R}{R + Z}},{{{and}\mspace{14mu} \tan \frac{\beta}{2}} = \frac{\sin \mspace{11mu} \beta}{1 + {\cos \mspace{11mu} \beta}}},{{d = \frac{2{RD}}{{2R} + Z + h + a}};}$ step 4-2, substituting h in $d = \frac{2{RD}}{{2R} + Z + h + a}$  in the step 4-1 through the formula (1), obtain: ${d = {\frac{R}{R + Z - \frac{\rho^{2}}{4\left( {a + R} \right)}} \cdot D}};$ step 4-3, setting ${\frac{R}{R + Z - \frac{\rho^{2}}{4\left( {a + R} \right)}} = K_{2}},$  regarding K₂ as a spherical projection coefficient, so that d=K ₂ ·D, substituting the formula (2) into the above formula, obtain d=K ₁ ·K ₂·ρ  (3); step 4-4, approximately substituting a projection point of the target on the spherical surface with the point P, and obtaining coordinates P(X_(Q), Y_(Q)) of the spherical projection point of the target according to the principle of the same proportion of sides of similar figures, namely: $\quad\left\{ \begin{matrix} {X_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot x_{\rho}}} \\ {Y_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot y_{\rho}}} \end{matrix} \right.$ wherein K_(Q) represents an East coordinate of the projection of the target on the spherical surface, and Y_(Q), represents a North coordinate of the projection of the target on the spherical surface; so, calculation formulas of the spherical projection coordinates and the altitude of the radar target are as follows: $\left\{ {\begin{matrix} {X_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot {\rho sin\alpha}}} \\ {Y_{Q} = {K_{1} \cdot K_{2} \cdot {\rho cos\alpha}}} \\ {Z = {h + a + \frac{\rho^{2}}{2\left( {R + a} \right)}}} \end{matrix}.} \right.$ 